It’s Okay to Breathe…

Four summers ago some friends and I started meeting on Monday nights for an outdoor workout. It began as a 30-minute walk followed by some strength training. At the time it was a good workout for us and where we were physically…and I know I always left feeling like I’d had a good workout.

When the weather became colder, we moved our workouts to the school gym, where we’d run stairs and then do more strength and cardio fun. Yes, fun. 😉

And then a running club began in the spring, and by the next summer a lot of us were running three or more miles and then doing more exercising after that.

And slowly over the course of the next months and years, our workout night continued to morph and become even more difficult.

And those Monday nights have continued over the last years as we’ve tried to hold each other accountable in the journey of being healthy and becoming stronger.

Our latest adventure has been a series of Beachbody workouts, ranging from hardcore cardio to too many squats, from planking to killer ab moves that make me want to say bad words.

This journey of working out has been a good one, but it’s also been a hard one.

There’s been a lot of trying with everything I have…of pushing myself beyond what I probably should some days. And the trying can sometimes feel impossible…like the results are out of my control.

Because they usually are.

I remember a specific workout a few weeks ago. It was brutally difficult…and there was a point when we were doing burpees, andI seriously couldn’t do another one. I just couldn’t. I had to stop and breathe before I pushed myself, once more, down into that dreaded pushup-but-much-worse position.

Resting became necessary before I could even continue.

Part of me that saw that as failure because, of course, I want to be that girl who can sweat like nothing else as she pushes even harder through anything that’s thrown at her. I always want to come out victorious with an absolutely perfect record.

However, we all have our limits, and I had certainly found one of mine. (<====Tweet this.)

And honestly, once I’d given myself those fifteen-or-so seconds of breathing time, I was able to push through the rest of our workout.

I still finished it, I still burned calories. (And I probably still went home and had cake because that’s just what I do.)

😉

And I was thinking about that workout today again as I processed the last two years and a dream I’ve been chasing.

Book writing.

It’s a dream a lot of people have, and this dreamer is no exception.

In my head, I’ve always had a perfectly ordered dream going. Build the blog while I write a rough draft. Gain tons of followers. Pitch my book to agents and, of course, find the perfect publisher who will turn it into a bestseller

Please don’t wake me up. 😉

Most of me knew it wouldn’t be quite that easy…but I don’t think I was expecting the journey to be quite so difficult, either.

There are times when I wish I’d kept pushing toward the goal I’d always planned, but I also have to trust that there’s a reason He has in me in this time of quiet…and that there’s a purpose for my dream taking a different path.

And so today and in this season, I am stopping to breathe and redirect…because I know, from experience, that the break will be just what I need to keep chasing down whatever it is He has planned in the future.

Whatever it is, I know it will be good.

Because the dreams don’t go away just because one takes a different path.

I don’t know where you are in your journey, friend, but I do know that sometimes we get tired.
We wonder what His plan is exactly…and the unknown can feel overwhelming.Go ahead and take that break if you need to…because it’s okay to breathe.

Related

About Mel Schroeder

Mel is a follower of her Father, wife to Tobin, mama to Mae and Mac, a friend. She loves music, running, long chats over coffee, and could probably live on dark chocolate. A dreamer who loves everything from swinging on vines in the jungle and surfing, to dancing through her days with her sweet girl and heart-spilling on her blog, she takes each step of the ever-winding journey with faith that her Father has it all planned for good. She’s working on her first book that recounts the hilarious and heart-changing moments from the years she and her hubby spent in Indonesia. However, her dreams go beyond book-writing. Mel believes that doing whatever He’s planned for this beautiful life she’s been given is her biggest dream of all. Mel blogs at A Barefoot Life and can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Comments

The idea of rest is something I’ve been working on for the last couple of years. Trying to make sure my day has it’s priorities in order, and not filled with mindless things that can wait. Our dreams can be consuming, can’t they? I’m glad God reminds us to rest and trust in Him. We would burn ourselves out otherwise 🙂

Mel thank you for your humility in sharing your journey into rest. I for one am loving your book. It is blessing my heart. I am so proud of you and cannot wait to see where God continues to take your dreams!!!!

Oh, you know how to make a girl get all teary! I’m so grateful for you, friend..that you’ve walked such a similar path and are cheering for me now. You have no idea what a blessing that is to me! Now if only we could take care of those miles that separate us! I’m just going to pray and plan on having coffee with you in 2015. Then I’ll leave the details to God…He’s got it. 🙂

Such a healthy point of view, Mel. I always think we should hold onto our dreams lightly. God gavae them to us, but He might ask for them back, or lead us to put them on hold. Resting for a while should be okay! I’ve had to take breaks for months at a time while pursuing an ARDUOUSLY challenging dream. 🙂

The whole, holding-our-dreams-loosely thing has been a hard lesson for me, but I can honestly say I’m so grateful for the place I am now. God is good, isn’t He? So happy to see you here today! Blessings, friend. 🙂

Just Breathe…by Anna Nalick comes to mind…you tube search that. 🙂 i jist did a breather myself…a nap. Lunch on the couch with a good tv show. Sometimes our days and dreams move so fast we forget that rest is ok and good. Write on! 🙂 jenn

Oh how I needed to read your words tonight. I needed to be reminded that rest is part of the journey. To try to push on without rest will just burn us out. My prayers have been with you as He redirects your dream for His glory.